Only 1/2 Piece for Me

Mom loved to chew gum. Her favorite was Wrigleys Double Mint. As a child I did, too. She would only give us 1/2 piece to chew. All her life she did the same. 'It lasted longer,' she said. When I grew up, I always used a whole piece. It was a way of showing I had 'Made it!' I was now affluent and such.

Mom never changed the size of her stick of gum, but she did change the flavor. She used Big Red later in life. I quit chewing gum. It lost its flavor all too soon and the chonking on it drove me crazy. I ran across one of her packets and put it in my desk at work. On occasion, when I get hungry or bored, I pull out the Big Red and have 1/2 piece. I do it for Mom.